HELSINKI, June 30 (Reuters) – Germany’s closely held Meyer Werft and the Finnish government are nearing a deal to buy the Turku shipyard in southwestern Finland from STX Europe , the Finnish economy ministry said on Monday.

STX Europe belongs to Korean STX. The Turku shipyard specialises in building cruise ships and has suffered from a lack of orders in recent years. STX said last year it was looking to sell some of its shipyards.

Finland’s government in 2012 faced heavy criticism for not providing a loan to the shipyard, which contributed to its loss of a 1 billion euro ($1.4 billion) order for cruise ships along with hundreds of potential jobs.

“The buyer consortium has reached preliminary understanding with the Korean seller about the conditions of the sale,” the ministry said in a statement, but added there are still several open questions.

The parties hope to announce an agreement by the end of next week, the ministry said.